The Experiment
by nothingleft
Summary: This one shot takes place at the end of Eclipse, after the meadow, before the wedding. Edward gets creative while trying to solve one of the complications of his being with Bella while she's human. In this case, his cold body temp. Hint Warm and Bubbly


**Authors Note: This was my first fanfic and posting. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight characters, but they're so bright and shiny I couldn't help reaching out to touch them!**

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**The Experiment**

We were lying in bed, his arms around me, my head cradled on his marble chest. I sighed contentedly.

"I would like to try an experiment," Edward said suddenly, as if it had just occurred to him.

"Oh?" I asked, "What kind of experiment?" I wasn't fooled, I knew Edward almost never did anything without exhausting amounts of forethought.

"Well..."He hesitated, choosing his words carefully, again with the forethought. It really wasn't fair. Whenever I tried talking to _him_, things tended to spill out, usually with embarrassing results.

"I have been thinking a lot about.." another pause "how we... I... you" he was really struggling for words and that made me _really_ pay attention. Edward is rarely at a loss for words.

He sighed, laughed softly at himself, and tried again.

"I have been thinking a lot about our wedding night."

My eyes went wide and my face turned pink. I finally understood his trouble speaking.

"Me too," I whispered, blushing deeper.

He chuckled at _me_ this time and traced a cool finger over my flushed cheeks, "And I would like to try an experiment." He repeated.

I sat up and turned to face him, "An experiment that has to with our wedding night?" I asked, my curiosity brimming.

He smiled at my reaction, "Well, Bella, my love, there are many things complicating... that night. I would like to resolve whatever I can before then." His smile grew and became impishly crooked.

As expected, my heart began to beat erratically as my imagination jumped into overdrive. I smiled widely, "I'm game," I said a little too breathlessly. "When do we start?"

He truly laughed this time, the musical sound sending my poor heart into overdrive as well.

"Tomorrow.."He began.

"Tomorrow?!" I exclaimed, feeling that was far too long to give my imagination time to torture me.

He smiled crookedly again, "Tomorrow," he began again, "I should have every thing in place. Tomorrow _night_ to be exact. I'll pick you up after dinner. Wear your hiking clothes with your swimming suit underneath." His eyes twinkled with mischief at this last addition.

"Wait," I said, "this _experiment_ has to do with our wedding night, hiking, and swimming?" Now I was not just curious, but also extremely confused.

"Yes." He said in a tone of voice that I knew meant I wouldn't be able wheedle anything else out of him.

The next night I was practically vibrating with anticipation, my imagination hadn't let up since the night before. There were endless possibilities... well, maybe not endless if we were still following all the rules.

"Got something special planed tonight, Bella?" Charlie asked me that night at dinner.

I looked up quickly, afraid what I was thinking had somehow shown on my face. Charlie was only making polite conversation, thankfully he was oblivious as always.

"You never know, Dad," I said wistfully.

That got his attention. He looked up quickly himself, giving me the once over, noting my hiking gear.

"Hiking?" he asked, still surprised I let Edward drag me places I would never go on my own.

"I think so," I replied, trying with my entire being to project "no big deal".

"Hmm," was all Charlie replied. And then there was a knock at the door and I was saved from further questioning.

As I flung open the door, the ridiculous grin I had on fell, slightly. Filling the doorway behind Edward's beautiful face was Emmet's monster of a jeep. Edward smiled at my attempt to be brave. He knew I would be willing to ride just about anywhere in anything to find out more about this "experiment."Once I was strapped in, without even one word of protest about the jeep, Edward gently took my face in his hands and gave me a _very_ pleasant kiss.

"Ready?" He asked?

I gave him a look that told him _exactly_ how ready. He laughed and we were on our way.

"So," I started, trying to sound casual and failing miserably, in large part due to my fluttering heart. "Will you tell me where we are going now?"

"No," he said chuckling at my ferocious scowl, "But I will give you the basis for wanting to try this."

I straightened out my face and looked at him expectantly.

"Well, as I said last night, there are many complications to our being together," apparently he had solved his problem with finding the right words. "There are the obvious things, such as my thirst for your blood, and my being able to utterly crush you by accident."

He watched my face as he spoke. I carefully held my expression and willed him to continue.

"But there are other issues that I have worried about from time to time." He began, "Tonight's exercise is about my body temperature."

"But I don't mind how cold you are, Edward." I began, exasperated, "I've said that a hundred times. Trust me, I'm _plenty_ warm when you touch me." Once again I had been embarrassingly honest and my face flushed to show it.

Edward smiled at me and continued, "It may _feel_that way to you Bella, but your body really does cool as mine steals its warmth."

He smiled again in a way that implied just how much he enjoyed "stealing my warmth" as he put it.

"The point is, I think I may have thought of something to keep us both warm." Then he was silent.

I waited exactly 30 seconds for him to continue until I exploded, "WELL?"

His honey colored eyes twinkled at me as his mouth pulled into an impish grin, "Well, the rest is a surprise."

My face fell and I started to work up a really good pout.

"But we are almost done driving and then after bit of running we'll be there. So don't pout." He paused, "Unless it makes you feel better, in which case feel free because I find it adorable."

I decided to scowl instead of giving him the satisfaction and it only made him laugh.

"Keep your eyes closed," Edward commanded as his running slowed. I growled, but did as I was told. He gently pulled me from his back and set me on the ground. I stood there for a moment, but just as I started to feel foolish Edward whispered, "Okay, now."

I opened my eyes to find Edward sitting in a steaming natural spring. As beautiful as he is, I was still distracted, by the thousands of twinkling lights surrounding the pool.

"Oh" I sighed, eloquent as always. Enchanted by the lights, I leaned over the closest cluster and discovered they were glass jars, full of fireflies! Suddenly I had an absurd thought, and of course it came right out of my mouth, "How long have they been here?"

Edward really laughed then, loud and hard, "My silly Bella," he chuckled, "you stand there concerned for the lives of fireflies and yet you claim your greatest desire is to become a blood thirsty monster?" He laughed again. "Only since this morning. Alice helped me gather them. She knows where to find them. I'm fast enough to catch them. We can let them go before we leave, if you like."

"_Alice_ helped you?" I asked, with a tone of voice that said _-Alice knows what we're doing?_- I immediately blushed.

Edward looked down, chagrined, "I was originally going to used candles, but," now _he_ scowled, if you could call it that on such a beautiful face, "Alice saw the forest burning down."

This time _I _laughed, hard.

"Now are you getting in or not? This is not really going to work if you stay clear over there." He was smiling again.

Suddenly I remembered why I was there. I hurriedly folded my clothes and put them next to Edward's on the ground near the spring. I restrained myself from jumping and instead tried to demurely lower myself into the spring. I ruined the effect however, because as soon as I was in I let out a not so demure, "It tickles!"

Edward laughed again, but quietly this time, his topaz eyes shining in a way that made my heart stop. "This is an effervescent hot spring, as in warm and bubbly." Then we winked at me and I stopped breathing, too. "You're still too far away." He reminded me softly.

I immediately started forward, reaching out to him, _infinitely_ ready to start "experimenting". When I reached him, however he only kissed me lightly and then spun me gently around and placed me on a natural bench in the spring.

"Wait," he said, placing a finger on my lips. I can only imagine the look of utter frustration on my face as he smiled and said, "It will be worth it, I promise." The look in his eyes gave me no doubt. "Stay right here," he whispered softly in my ear.

Then he slowly backed away, and sank under the water. I blinked. We he serious? I watched the place he had gone under. Minutes went by, I looked around the clearing. It was really beautiful. The minutes continued to tick. Was I supposed to be coming after him? Just as I was really getting paranoid and about to move he was suddenly there, in front of me.

His wet hair hung down in his warm amber eyes. They were smoldering, my bones turned to mush, and then his lips were on mine. They were warm! My eyes flew wide open in shock, then immediately rolled back and closed again in complete surrender.

His arms encircled me and drew me to him. His whole _body_ was warm. I utterly lost control and knotted my hands in hair, but they wouldn't stay still. Acting on their own they moved to his face, his shoulders, his chest, feeling the same smooth, hard texture of his skin, yet marveling in it's new warmth. My lips also seemed to have a mind of their own.

As always, Edward began to pull away too soon. I couldn't let him go. My lips clung to his neck, trailing to his ear, where my teeth also wanted to participate. As I nibbled on him, I heard his breath catch.

"_Bella. . .Please_." The first word, my name, was a sigh asking me never to stop. The second word was plea attempting to remind us both of our promises. I let go of his ear and drew my lips along his hard jaw to his mouth. I kissed him softly, then with Herculean effort, pulled far enough away for our lips to part. My hands had found their way back to his neck and I clung to him, resting my forehead on his.

We were both breathing heavily and started grinning like idiots. Finally, as our breathing and my heartbeat slowed, Edward pulled away long enough to turn me around and set me in his lap while he sat on the shelf. We both leaned back and looked up at the stars we could see twinkling between the tree boughs, mirroring the flickering fireflies around us.

"I think that experiment was a success," he smiled. "Almost _too much_ of one," he whispered in my ear, gently kissing just beneath it.

"_I _think that was the best idea you've ever had," I said, still breathless and, for once, not embarrassed by it at all.

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